3 Ways Entrepreneurs Keep Self-Motivated

There is a plethora of motivational tools available on the market. There are motivational CDs, music, Ted Talks, videos, songs, wallpaper, and the list goes on. Those are all wonderful creations and inventions, but they are external. How can entrepreneurs keep self-motivated?

Self-motivation can be a challenge because there are so many distractions all around you. It is easy and quite simple to get off track with the essential things that you should be doing to move your life and your business forward.

To be self-motivated means that the desire and the push have to come from within you. You must have the resolve and make the effort to be who you want to be, and achieve what you desire to. This involves cultivating the quality of self-reliance. Notice the use of the word “cultivating.” Like a farmer who has to cultivate the soil before it can be ready for the seedlings, or a gardener who has to make sure that the soil is suitable for the potted plants or the bulbs so that she gets beautiful blooms, you will have to spend time working on keeping yourself motivated. Self-motivation is not a quality that comes naturally, but one that can be worked on in order to achieve the desired results.

Here are three ways entrepreneurs can keep self-motivated:

Visualize to keep self-motivated: Have a clear mental image of what you want to achieve. Set the goal and visualize it in detail. If your goal is to buy a home in the next five years, your dream cannot simply be ‘To own my home.’ You must create a vivid picture in your mind. For example, I will purchase my four-bedroom home with three bathrooms in five years. It has a patio that allows me to entertain friends and family in a relaxed atmosphere, etc. The twin arches over the front porch are exactly how I imagined they would be, and the floor to ceiling windows offer a beautiful, unhindered view of the rose garden and the incredible landscaped lawn beyond. Be as detailed as possible so that it’s not just a nebulous idea; it becomes real to you.

Write it down to keep self-motivated: Knowing what you want is one thing. You have created your vision in your mind and have used the power of visualization, that is, see your goal with your mind’s eye. The challenge is that if your goal stays in your mind only, the possibilities are strong that they’ll not come to fruition. Other things will take priority in your mind. So the next step is to write it down.

“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” ~

Fitzhugh Dodson

Writing down your goals means that you’re giving yourself a commitment to accomplish the goals, plus when more of your senses are involved in the goal-setting and goal-planning, then goal-achievement is more likely to follow.

Small business owners and Entrepreneurs can keep themselves motivated by breaking down the goal into smaller goals. Your big goal may be a 5-year goal. So your plan should include what you need to do in 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, daily in order to achieve your big 5-year goal of buying your dream home.

It’s impossible to be motivated by something that you already know would be impossible to achieve within the given period. It must be realistic or it will only lead to frustration and lack of confidence if you fail to reach it.

Create a vision board to keep self-motivated: Seeing your goals on a daily basis will be an incentive to keep motivated. Chris Burke said, ““I have a motto on my bedroom wall: ‘Obstacles are what you see when you take your eye off the goal.’ Giving up is not my style. I just want to do something that’s worthwhile.”

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3 Ways Entrepreneurs Keep Self-Motivated — 2 Comments

Very insightful. I’ve just had another friend tell me that I should update my goalboard/visionboard. Mine is two years old, and looking at it, there are many things I would keep, but so much more I want to add since my business, personal, and family life are two years different. Thank you for the additional encouragement.Kathryn recently posted…Pistachios – One Powerful Little Nut

Welcome to my blog, Kathryn. I appreciate your visit and comments. True, we often get so busy that we put off revisiting things like our vision board.
I’m glad the post encouraged you to take action and I would love to hear more about the changes you will be making, so we can support each other.